getbusiness: Make the most of The Reading Festival

Public speaker and former journalist Graham Jones is an internet psychologist who runs a consultancy helping companies who need to make better use of their websites

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It is Reading Festival time again which brings with it a whole host of reactions.

Some parents see it as a signal that the end of the summer holidays are near, whereas other people reckon the festival just brings a load of unwashed hippies into town...!

Then there is the noise, the extra traffic and the crowds on the trains and buses making many people think it is all something of a disturbance to their way of life. Others, however, see it as a golden opportunity.

A clue to that can be found in getreading's own guide to The Reading Festival . This includes several handy hints of where the 87,000 people at the festival can go drinking, eating and shopping; in other words, where they can spend their money in our town.

Whatever you think about the Reading Festival, it certainly brings extra cash into the local economy, which can be no bad thing in these tough times. The big cousin of Reading Festival over at Glastonbury has been heavily researched by business consultancies who have found that each time the Festival is run a whopping £73m is added to the local economy.

Clearly, the Reading Festival is not as big, so the impact will not be so huge, but you can be sure that local businesses will benefit significantly from this weekend.

Back in 2009, Reading University conducted a study of the economic impact and found that festival –goers spend a massive £16m in the town over the weekend with a further £15m of economic activity in the area.

Without the Reading Festival, our town would be a lot worse off. Plus it wouldn't get the positive PR it brings and the worldwide attention via the Internet. Business certainly booms thanks to the festival and even if you think the extra 87,000 people get in your way, it is worth remembering that significant numbers of local businesses will benefit